Finmin submits report on Abraham case

The Finance Ministry has submitted its report to the PMO and the CVC, among others, relating to a case in which former whole-time Sebi member K M Abraham had made certain allegations against higher-ups in the government and the market regulator.

"We have submitted our comments to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) in the Abraham case. Now, it is up to them to take action," a senior Finance Ministry official said.

The controversy relates to allegations levelled by Abraham against top functionaries in the Finance Ministry and Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) U K Sinha.

In a three-page clarification issued on Tuesday evening, the Finance Ministry had said that the charges levelled against the Finance Minister and his Adviser were "devoid of any truth and are a complete distortion of facts".

The Finance Ministry said that it has received numerous complaints, including the ones from several MPs, about Abraham's conduct, while references have also been received from the CVC and the DoPT.

Abraham retired from Sebi last month and has lodged complaints with the Prime Minister about alleged interference by the Finance Ministry in the functioning of Sebi, including in cases relating to major corporate entities such as the two Reliance groups, ICICI-Bank of Rajasthan, MCX-SX and Sahara group.

In letter dated June 1 to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Abraham had complained that Sinha told him that the Finance Ministry wanted the regulator to go slow in these cases.

The letter was forwarded to the Finance Ministry, which later sought response from Sinha on the issue.